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UP Elections 2017: Batla House terror encounter ghost returns to haunt PM Narendra Modi’s BJP, Akhilesh Yadav’s SP in this UP village

Uttar Pradesh Elections 2017 have so far witnessed several poll planks with political parties focusing on an array of issues to target rivals. But an old event, that had rocked the country’s politics, is still relevant in Sanjarpur village in Azamgarh. The 2008 encounter at Batla House in Delhi, in which two suspected terrorists and a police officer were killed, had grabbed headlines and this village became the focal point. The two youths who were killed in the encounter hailed from the village. “The village has not forgotten what happened in 2008. Shadab Ahmed a.k.a. Mister is getting ready to go to neighbouring seats to campaign. Ahmed, an SP functionary, is the father of Mohd Saif, who is in jail in the Batla House case. His elder son Dr Shahnawaz is missing; he names at least three other young villagers as missing. The community is waiting for justice… Muslim men are falsely implicated in terror cases,” The Indian Express report says.

While Samajwadi Party and Akhilesh Yadav command favourable opinions from electorates, BSP chief Mayawati has been wooing Muslims by citing that she has fielded close to 100 Muslims. To counter Mayawati, Akhilesh had targetted the former state Chief Minister with remarks such as “Bua Mayawati will celebrate Raksha Bandhan with the BJP”.In Sanjarpur, general opinion is that only ruling SP can stop the BJP. Voters, however, are not sure whom to vote as they have a few reservations against the Akhilesh Yadav government over jobs. They also question Maywati’s tactic